Worth the wait!

Oh! I hate to admit it but my husband was right!

All this time I've been searching Craigslist for a playhouse for the girls, then I stopped looking for a while and this morning thought I'd just check....and there it was... the perfect playhouse...just 4 miles away!

I'd been asking my husband to drive 100 mile round trips for little playhouses and he kept hesitating and putting me off. Then this morning - there it was - a bigger than average playhouse, for sale by grandparents (so in really good condition as not used every day!) and just 15 minutes drive away!

I hate it when he's right - I'm very impulsive whereas he is the complete opposite (which often drives me crazy!!!) but in this case he was right to wait.

Well, when the girls saw it they were completely delighted and have played in it ALL DAY!

The picnic table we got previously looks great outside it too (although it has it's own table inside and the lady even threw in a couple of small plastic chairs for inside too!)

It looks for all the world like a little log cabin in the woods, as we have a meadow with trees and a creek at the bottom of our garden - it looks like they are camping up in the mountains!

I LOVE IT!! It's exactly what I pictured and what's more the girls love it too!

I look forward to them spending many happy hours playing in it....!

Friday!

...or 'lollipop Friday' as my girls call it! 

Not that they are deprived but I really try and limit candy.  So they look forward to Fridays as they know that's the day they'll get a lollipop!

It's not easy to avoid candy here though is it?

Even the bank and the liquor store have tubs of lollipops on the counter to keep the younger customers happy!

Pink Papaya

I'm so excited because people are starting to get their Pink Papaya orders and are contacting me to say how much they love the products!
I'm thrilled, because not only are they enjoying the spa I do but the products are actually exceeding their expectations!
The girls don't mind me going out at night, my husband is coping AND I get a bit of extra money! Not that I'm not busy enough but I've decided I need to create a monthly e-newsletter to send to my customers! I guess it will help my business and my writing skills (note to self - get assignment 2 of your children's writing course finished and emailed to your tutor!!)
The company has special offers each month so this will be the basis of my newsletter - so should be relatively easy - right??
The girls start ballet next week - I could use this time to do it! (I'm meant to be using this time for cleaning, grocery shopping and going to the gym!) No problem - we Moms can fit it all in!!

The tables have turned

I had an unusual experience the other night. I had been out doing a spa and came home to find the house in a mess! My husband was hurriedly washing the dinner dishes at 10pm but there were toys and clothes all over the floor!
Turns out a neighbor had invited him and the girls down to play for the evening, but it was bizarre to come home to such a mess (normally I tidy up before I leave then the girls go to bed so there's no time for much mess!)
It made me see what my husband sees when he comes home from work!
Try as I might to tidy up before he arrives there is generally some on-going mess while I cook dinner. He doesn't realise all the things I have done he just sees the things I haven't!
I admit I felt a bit irritated by the mess!!! "Huh, couldn't you even do the dishes while I was out?" I thought before I knew they had been out all evening. It was a strange feeling as I know as well as any Mom how hard it is to keep on top of the toy tidying! Just hope my husband appreciates being on the other side too and cuts me some slack when he comes home to a less than perfect house!

this neighborhood...

OK so I'm loving that we bought this house, in this neighborhood.

My husband and I were sitting on the porch swing seat after dinner and suddenly my girls were whisked away to play with the 'big girls' (7 year olds!) and my husband is whisked away for beers with 2 neighbors who are sharing beers in our next door neighbors garage (everyone has beer fridges in their garage here!)

Which leaves me here sipping wine alone on our swing seat - raising a glass to our neighbors across the street who are on their porch rocking chairs while the husband enjoys his cigar.

This is what the world should be like - except I know that beyond this wonderful neighborhood a different world exists. But for now I'm going to chill and enjoy the moment. Heck, I grew up playing 'Mummy' (Stephanie and Angela - where are they now???) to the little girls down the road and I love that my daughters are now those 'little girls' for others to share and play with. Glad my husband - who misses his 'local pub' in England so much, has got drinking buddies again (including another Englishman!!!)

Cheers! Sláinte! (Gaelic) Salud! (Spanish) A votre sante! (French)

Summer vacation's here!

Well that's the first year of preschool officially over and my time alone with my youngest over too. We've both enjoyed our mornings together but I know she's keen to move on to preschool next school year....
Can't seem to stop them growing.....
She'll be 3 in a couple of months and is Miss Independent and full of her own opinions about everything! She even managed to fully dress herself the other morning! I'm slowly being made redundant!!
I'm happy that they are starting their way in the world but sad too that those years when they were mine alone is coming to an end....
So I'm off to play with them now, while they still want me to!

Making hats

Today we will be decorating hats for tomorrows preschool end of year parade. Luckily my sister gave the girls some lovely straw hats previously so we'll be adding more flowers and ribbons to these.
Just read a frantic email from another preschool Mom whose daughter is refusing to decorate her hat!
The Mom is desperate to follow the teachers instruction and not look out of place or as if she didn't make an effort while the little one seems to have very strong ideas about what she wants to do!
Another Mom just phoned to ask advice as she has a son and a baseball cap but no clue how to decorate it. I'm sure the teacher didn't mean us to all get so stressed out over this! Luckily we all know each other well and will have a laugh about it on the day!

First spa!

Well I did my first Pink Papaya Spa party on Friday night and it went really well!

It feels so good to have the first one under my belt. Many of the people there didn't know it was my first one and were very surprised when it was revealed at the end of the night! It was nice to hear their comments about how relaxed and professional they thought I was.

My girls are getting into it too. They like to check out the products with me and say "Mommy works for Pink Papaya". They waved me off happily the other night - I have 2 more spas this week so hope they continue to happily let me go out!

We spent the rest of the weekend making the 'Friendship bread' we were given by a Mom at preschool then passing bags of mix to our neighbors. What a lovely idea this is! Not only did the girls enjoy squishing the bag each day till it was time to help me make it on day 10 but they loved giving it out to our friends too. A good lesson in sharing while having fun!

Oh no! It's happened again!

I went shopping with my youngest today and the male cashier had many, many piercings, and a mohican! My little one pipes up in a loud voice "He looks like a chicken!"

Again, I will never know if he heard as I didn't dare look at him!

Mommy Tip

Want to get your house work done?? Invite some playmates over!
This morning I'm looking after 2 little boys my girls have known all their life and they are all playing very nicely down in the playroom. In fact, in the 4 years we've known them, none of these children has ever had a cross word with each other - EVER!
Consequently, I'm flying round with the duster! Not having to stop to answer questions, fix toys etc.
Long may it continue - well at least till snack time!

"I'm gonna build me a treehouse""

Still no luck on a little playhouse for the garden - people have gotten wise to their popularity and are now listing them for 100 bucks! Forget that - I could buy a new one for just a little more!

My husband has decided that what we need is a tree-house! We have the perfect spot for it in a big old tree which has had a huge branch cut off leaving a nice big flat piece of trunk. Not sure when he'll get around to it but as he's told the girls he has to do it now!!

Mother's Day

What a truly lovely Mother's Day weekend I just had!
On Saturday we joined 3 other families with children the same age, who my children have known all their lives at a restaurant at a local airport. There was room for the children to play after eating and they could also go out on the balcony and watch the planes. I haven't had such a relaxing meal in years!
Then yesterday both girls got up with some other children in Church and sang a Mother's Day song they had learned -I was so proud of them! Right up till the last minute my little one said she wasn't going up but then when it came time she announce "I want to go" and she sang and everything!!
Then we went on a picnic with 3 other British families - this was lovely as it's nice to spend time with people who can relate to your background and know the same places, culture etc.
It was such a lovely w/e and while I'm not one for receiving gifts such as jewelry on Mother's Day (except for 2 homemade cards and "Happy Mother's Day" wishes from 2 little girls of course!) I did actually receive some wonderful gifts - watching my children singing with confidence, running and laughing with older children as well as their peers....these are all the gifts I could ever need.

Where do Ladybugs live?

"Where do ladybugs live?" asked my youngest the other day.

Hmmm, I'm not sure - I think they just live in plants but do they have a nest? a hive? Do I remember? Did I ever know?

I know they like flowers and our window sill (!) but where do they actually live?

Thanks to wonderquest on the internet I can now share the answer with you: "In the summer, ladybugs live in shrubs, branches, and flowers. During autumn a few to several hundred ladybugs all crawl to the same place to hibernate--a base of a tree, along a fence row, under a fallen tree, or under a rock. They crawl under leaves that protect them from the winter cold.By the way, the name, ladybug, comes from the Middle Ages when churchmen dedicated the beetle to the Virgin Mary and said, "beetle of Our Lady."

Back in the old days, farmers burned hop vines in England after the harvest to clear the fields. The fires also killed many ladybird beetles. The nursery rhyme (Ladybug ladybug, fly away home...) tells the story.(Answered by April Holladay, science correspondent, November 14, 2001)

Thanks! Answering children's questions all day long (and I mean all day long - from the minute they wake up till the minute they fall asleep!!!) is a learning curve for me too!

My girls and I love ladybugs but both girls are upset that at one time or another they've both tried to pick one up ....and squished it.... sorry ladybugs! They didn't mean too - they just wanted to play with you!

Oh, in case you're not familiar with the rhyme it's "ladybird (UK name), ladybird fly away home, your house is on fire, your children alone". This is sadly like a lot of nursery rhymes, we recite them happily as children then when we're older and think about it they are really quite sad!Perhaps I won't teach my girls this one......!

This is a new one

I find myself in a strange situation this morning. My oldest girl begged me to go to preschool today although I thought she should stay home another day as she is worn out from this tummy bug. When we got there though she didn't want to stay after all but the teacher asked if my little one might like to stay - she said yes! So for the first time in two and a half years I'm home alone with my oldest instead of my youngest!

It's a nice situation though and I hope my little one is having fun - this is her first time ever staying somewhere on her own!

Saturday?

Hi - don't usually post on the weekend but for some reason I couldn't get on this site yesterday. Sometimes I just don't understand what goes on with computers - I'm sure they really do have a 'mind of their own!"
The Snow White play went really well - my daughter knew all the steps and all the words - she's amazing! I videoed it and she was delighted to see it on the TV. My little one sat very quietly during the show and loved seeing herself clapping on the TV too!
Sadly, the inevitable has happened and my older girl has caught the tummy bug my little one has had. She seems a bit brighter today after a horrible night of throwing up every few hours. She wanted to wake her little sister in the middle of the night to tell her she was sick now too! Luckily, I managed to convince her to wait till morning...